Devotion
by Cuddly Cat
Summary: The car accident happens differently, difficulties arise that Haru will have to face if he plans to continue to be with the one he loves. A Haru that does not cower to adversity and has ultimately conquered his fear for the one he loves. Haru shall cease to be Kuroyukihime's pawn and take the role of her guardian angel. Strong determined Haru, smart Haru, HaruyukixKuroyukihime


Devotion

**A.N.**

**Note:** **This story mostly focuses on the romantic relationship between Kuroyukihime and Arita Haruyuki (Haru). **

**Events take place starting Episode 4, and will progressively become AU due to sequence of events.**

**I deeply enjoyed the first 4-5 episodes of Accel World as they were extremely well executed and were some of the best world building episodes in anime that I have seen. It establishing a realistic futuristic world, something that I have seen constantly butchered by most anime attempting to integrate realism into their plot line. **

**I hated most of the rest of the plot though with the cliché blackmail scenario that was established. It's frankly seen a lot in anime and seemed almost out of place in a gaming anime like Accel World, as I would expect it more in a detective or suspense style anime rather than an action oriented one.**

**Due to my love of most of episode four I have maintained it similar to its original plot line, minus some alterations, and wrote most of it similar to a light novel style.**

**Official Disclaimer:**** I do not own Accel World or any referenced or related works in that may appear in this story. The right of any pictures or art I will ever use go to their respective owners, if said artist would like the picture removed from my profile or story, for that is where it would most likely be, please say so instead of jumping to conclusions of infringement.**

* * *

**Friction**

Arita Haruyuki was currently walking alone to school, and was in the process of beating himself up for things beyond his control, something actually pretty common for him.

The thing is that he had an… uhum! Quite erotic dream to say the least of not only Kuroyukihime, but Chiyuri as well, and while he may not be dating either, it still felt wrong to do so, specifically it felt almost like he were cheating on Kuruyikihime in doing so. Even though in the dream she had been more than willing to share him and forthcoming with her emotions, especially when she started to take off her clothes as Chiyu pinned him down…

He shook his head vehemently at that

No! He would not think such lecherous thoughts of them, they were his friends after all, sure he liked them but he couldn't just think of them in such a way.

'I'm so disgusting!' he lamented in his head

"I am-"

"I'm such a-"

"I probably had that dream because I cabled with Chiyu!" he exclaimed as he shook his head from left to right

"Good morning!" said someone from behind him as they patted him on the back making him go wide eyed as he whirled around, only to freak out as he saw Kuroyukihime herself standing there behind him.

'Oh my god, did she hear what I said!?' he thought horrified as she stood there looking at him funny with a raised eyebrow at his horrified reaction

"You okay?" she asked worriedly

"No, I mean Yes! I mean - good morning senpai!" he exclaimed as he bowed his head to her, she barely managing to contain her chuckles at his reaction by clearing her throat

"H-hey… about yesterday, uh… I'm sorry" she said with a mild blush as she looked away "I acted immature" she confessed

"N-No, I'm sorry too… for having such a dream…" he stated with a mild blush as he looked at his feet

"Dream?" asked a mildly surprised Kuroyukihime making him go wide eyed at his apparent blunder

"No, I mean… I'm sorry that I left without saying anything" he said as he played it off and started walking to school beside her

'Dream' she thought curiously for a second trying to figure out why he would blush and apologize for having a dream, unless… 'I-it couldn't be, Haruyuki-kun couldn't have had that kind of dream about me now could he?' she thought herself with a blush at this point as she cast a sideways glance towards him

'Well he is a growing boy after all, it's only normal that they would have such dreams, does that mean that he sees me as the object of his affections?' she thought with a growing blush as her mind continued it's descent into the gutter

"Well I can't blame you for that" she said as she continued to address the current conversation, her thoughts firmly entrenched however on his previous statement "I suspected your good friend and even suggested something absurd like cabling with her to check." She said in understanding

"Uh… I did it, though" he responded confusedly, isn't that what she had wanted him to do?

"Did what?" she asked in confusion as she looked at him

"Cable with her" he responded simply making her stiffen at that as she momentarily stopped walking making him turn towards her confusedly, before she resumed at a slightly more agitated pace

'Damn it, I didn't think he would do it, or that she would actually allow him to do it either. Plus I did not want Haru near that girl any more than he already is, that was the reason I was calling it off after all.' She thought in frustration at her apparent competition for Haru

"Where?" she asked him, it truly being more of a demand however

"Uh, at her place" Haru responded honestly, not seeing what the problem was, this causing her to speed up a little bit faster in her walking forcing him to lightly jog to keep up

"Where specifically?" she asked a bit more forcefully

"H-Her room" he said a bit nervous as her reaction to his initial statement

"Oh?" she said simply as her eyes narrowed at that, her gaze strictly set towards the school

"When I checked her physical memor-" he started before he was cut off by Kuroyukihime

"How long was the cable?" she asked seriously with a firm look

"About… 30 centimeters" he said as he sprinted to catch up to her

"I see" she said as she speed off to school he not being able to keep up even while running, his weight not being much help as he arrived exhausted at the school gate

* * *

**Several hours later – School Day is over**

He had been thinking a lot on what happened this morning with Kuroyukihime, along with what those two girls from the newspaper club had told him, of how Kuroyukihime really liked him and was jealous of Chiyu. Could Kuroyukihime really have feelings for him that would really entice jealousy from her?

It was just so confusing, why would someone as popular, smart, beautiful, and all around better choose to truly care for someone like him, in a romantic fashion no less! It just didn't make any sense, he had done nothing to be deserving of such feelings.

Why did she degrade herself to his level? Was it pity like Chiyu and Takumo had shown to him in the past? Was it simply to feel better about herself? Did she hate how perfect she was so much that she decided to find the most imperfect person in the entire school simply to, for lack of a better word, "balance herself out"?

The biggest question of all that haunted him however was "Why him?" why of all the people she could have chosen did she choose him. It was a question that had plagued him ever since she had first come into contact with him and introduced him to the accelerated world

So it was with a torrent of emotions and thoughts running through him that he walked out of the school grounds. He vaguely seeing Kuroyukihime from the corner off his eye as he walked through the gate, she apparently having been waiting for him quite a while as school had let out over ten minutes ago.

"Hey" she said in attempt to grab his attention making him to turn to her expectantly

"Let's talk while walking" she said as she offered him a small tender smile that nearly melted his heart on the spot

He simply in turn nodded to her, his troubled heart withholding the usual smile that would grace his face every time he saw her, he quickly turning around and walking

Kuroyukihime simply standing there for a few seconds as she looked at him walk away worriedly. Maybe he was still angry at what happened this morning, after all she had just apologized for the way she acted the day prior only to act even worse right afterwards by blowing him off like she did. She hung her head in shame at that, before gaining a determined expression on her face at that and quickly following after him intent on apologizing.

After having walked a while in silence Kuroyukihime decided to take the initiative and spoke up.

"Um… I am sorry about this morning" she apologized to him "I don't know what was wrong with me" she lied, she knowing full well what had caused her reaction.

Truthfully her heart hurt to lie to him like this, but it wasn't like she could simply say "It's just that I am jealous of your friend and how close you two are to one another for her to allow you to do a direct link with you like that" yeah that would probably not go over very well, especially since he had known Chiyu for way longer than he had known her

In Haru's mind there was nothing to apologize for however so he decided to address the issue at hand "I found out about Kurashima's connection to Cyan Pile"

Kuroyukihime could not help but let out a sound of surprise at that, to think Haru had so quickly already established a connection between the two

"R-really?" she asked in slight disbelief, kind of disappointed that he did not address her apology as that made her feel he did not truly accept it

"Then let's talk about it over the cable" she continued "We don't want anyone eavesdropping on the important details, now do we" she said as she pulled out a direct link cable, this one being different than the one they usually used

"Oh, I _accidentally _snapped the cable we've been using" she said sheepishly, the truth being that she did so in anger this morning after Haru told her about his encounter with Chiyu, she sweat dropping at that as she gazed at the replacement cable she had bought

"They only had these short ones in stock" she continued sheepishly as she offered it to him, this being a lie

Haru looked at the cable for a second before without hesitation he linked it to his neuro-linker, she quickly doing the same on her end, before they started walking once more together.

"**Kurashima isn't Cyan Pile"** he started off by stating the most important fact he had uncovered **"Your enemy sent a virus to her Neuro Linker and created a backdoor." **He explained his discovery, surprising her at that

"**That's why he's able to appear on the stage at her coordinates"** he rationalized as he explained his theory to her detachedly, not trying to force his idea upon her but simply present it to her

Kuroyukihime however was starting to get worried at Haru's behavior, he wasn't acting like his usual clumsy goofy self, he acting similar to a person giving a report to their boss rather than someone talking to their friend.

"**Did something happen to you?" **she asked worriedly over the link **"You're acting kind of strange." **She prodded

"**Nothing happened"** he responded cordially, he being lost in thought of the true nature of the relationship he had with the girl next to him, not detecting the underlying concern and worry in her voice

"**Are you angry with me?" **she asked as calmly as possible hiding the underlying sadness that such a thing would bring to her. Sure she had been a bit difficult the last few days, what with her rampant jealousy and all, but it had not been on purpose, this all was something new to her. She didn't even know how to feel, let alone act.

"**Forget about me"** he said dismissively, his words striking her like a hammer blow at how quickly he discarded himself like that

"**Let's talk about what's important"** said Haru further both saddening and angering her at that, both as his casual dismissal of her question and his lack of self-importance. Deciding not to push the subject further however she decided to get back to the topic at hand, for now…

"**Do you have any proof?"** she asked about backdoor theory Haru had developed concerning Cyan Pile

"**I figured he'd notice if I did anything, so I simply verified it"** he explained seriously

"**That's a logical conclusion, but it's not very persuasive. Connecting to Brain Burst's matching server through a backdoor is unheard of, even to me."** She said

"**So are you saying that I made up the virus story and switched sides?" **Haru asked with a growing frown, sure the idea that the backdoor might be connected to Cyan Pile was pure speculation on his part, but he had seen the backdoor with his own eyes. Why would he lie to her in the first place? The reason he looked into it in the first place was for her after all, the reason he was doing any of this in fact was for her.

"**I didn't say that"** she responded quickly hoping to nip such thoughts of distrust between the two of them at the bud. Honestly she was starting to get frustrated at him, why couldn't he just tell her what was wrong so she could fix it, she hated to see him like this, she wanted Haru to act like he always did.

"**It's not about the evidence anymore then. You yourself can decide who you trust, the real question is do you trust me?" **he asked seriously

"**Do you really mean that?" **she asked with a frown, unable to keep the growing frustration out of her voice at this point

"**Do whatever you want. I am just pawn, a tool for you to use. You can throw me away when you're done with me" **he said dejectedly, he having come to the conclusion that the only possible reason she could be hanging around him was to use him. He being nothing more than a mere sacrificial pawn on the road to her ambitions.

She could only clench her hands tightly at that 'Why, why was he saying such things about himself. Where did these thoughts of his even come from?' She had never even thought of the possibility of simply using him like that. Haru was the sole stable point of her life, he was someone that she herself looked up to on a daily basis, someone that she cared about without a shadow of a doubt. To see him depreciate himself before her like this was heartbreaking for her.

She reached out and gripped his shoulder as she span him around to face her, surprising him slightly at the action **"You…"**

"**You're angry, right?" **she asked him almost desperately at his point, she not waiting for a response as she continued speaking **"I know my behavior was unacceptable and I apologize for that" **she said as she lowered her head slightly in shame at that, she gripping his shoulders tightly as she talked to him through the neuro linker

"**But…" **she continued** "There are times when I can't control my emotions either. Especially when it comes to you and Kurashima-kun" **she said to him the emotion thick in her voice at this point

"**What I'm trying to say is-" **she said as she attempted to explain her feelings to Haru before he interrupted her

"**Please…stop" **Haru said pleadingly making her look at him in surprise only to find him looking teary eyed at her

"**I don't know why you go to such lengths for someone as pitiful as me, but it's painful to watch" **he said sadly as he looked at her

"**What are you talking about?" **she asked in sheer confusion at his statement, the disbelief clear in her voice at the direction the conversation had taken

"**You hate yourself don't you?" **he asked stunning her, as her eyes widened at what he said, a surprised gasp escaping her lips at his statement

"**You hate yourself for being perfect at everything. That's why you're trying to degrade yourself by being so nice to someone like me." **He said to her as she stood there looking at him speechless with a mixture of shock and horror at what he was saying, her hand still precariously placed on his shoulder

"**I'll still do your bidding, even without you going to such lengths. I don't need a reward, I'm just a pawn, a tool at your disposal for you to use. That's how you should be treating me. So please stop trying so hard to make me happy" **he begged her, tears spilling from his eyes at this point. She after all had quickly without a doubt became the most important person in his life, for one simple fact, one of the greatest things he had wanted in his life was direction, a purpose, both which had been provided by serving Kuroyukihime. She had recognized him as someone useful, important, she had given him purpose, things that not even his own parents had never even recognized in him, she had.

Kuroyukihime however simply stood there speechless, not knowing what to do. On one hand she felt like slapping him for what he had said and on the other she simply felt like hugging him and telling him that everything was going to be alright. However one thing had become painfully clear, Haru had as little experience in love as her, and was struggling with his feelings with a lot more difficulty than her due to his insecurities, she was sure of it.

Love? Yes, she was sure of it at this point what she felt for Haru was love and she was quite sure he felt similarly for her yet was struggling as much, if not more so than she did with accepting and understanding it.

"Haru" she said aloud softly, she forgoing the use of the neuro linker altogether. Tears streaming down her eyes at this point she redacted her hand from his shoulder and lifted it up to his face, as she rested it tenderly upon his cheek. This making him flinch momentarily before he re-opened his teary eyes once again and looked at Kuroyukihime, only for his eyes to widen when he found her crying with him.

She reached out and tenderly wiped away his tears with her thumb lovingly as a smile formed on her face, not one of her polite kind smiles that she had offered him before, but a sincere heartfelt smile that seemed to display to him a spectrum of emotion so rich that it left him speechless.

"Haru, you baka" she said, her words lacking any actual sting or malice as she smiled a teary eyed smile at him, he in turn only crying more profusely at that as he looked at her. He now knowing without a shadow of a doubt that what she felt for him went deeper than pity, or self-hate. That one action of hers, of how she tenderly wiped away his tears - it was filled with such love and care that it made the things he had suggested that she should treat him as seem like near blasphemy towards the sentiments she apparently possessed for him.

"Senpai" he said sadly with bleary eyes

Suddenly both of them heard a car screech making them look towards the left only to see a speeding white car scrapping against the median, before it used a speed bump designed for the lower speed limit in a school zone to catapult itself into the air.

The car heading straight for them…

* * *

**Seven Minutes**

"Burst Link!" shouted the two of them quickly, before the car impacted into them. The car stopping mere feet mid-air away from them

The sudden transition blasting Haruyuki backwards into his Teppig avatar.

"That was close" Haru said out loud "If we had reacted just a moment later…" he said

"But we're just accelerating. Time hasn't stopped. At this rate, we'll…" he let the statement hang ominously at that, like a guillotine hovering over their heads. He rushing forward in his pig avatar to find out who the driver was as he started climbing the vehicle

"With the fully A.I. controlled cars of today, it's supposed to be harder to get into an accident. Are we being targeted on purpose?" he asked as he finally managed to get a look into the windshield after climbing the hood, his eyes widening at who was behind the wheel

"Araya!?" he exclaimed in shock at he saw who it was behind the wheel

When did he get out of juvi!? Had he targeted them because of what had happened that landed him there, well he seemed pretty happy at trying to run them over with a car that was for sure, if the psychotic smile on his face was any indication.

"Wait, could he be Cyan Pile?" Haru asked aloud as the thought suddenly struck him

"No, he's probably just taking revenge" Kuroyukihime said as she spoke up for the first time since they had accelerated making him turn to her

"But it's all the more reason to be cautious. We should have seen it coming, after all you don't need acceleration powers to attack another person. A knife or a car is more than enough for the job." She said as she lowered her head slightly in shame at her oversight

"This must be my punishment for toying with the feelings of others without even trying to understand them." She lamented, Haru quickly running over to her on his tiny stubby legs

"Senpai?" he asked in confusion as he looked up to her, the height difference being painfully obvious in their avatars, she quickly kneeling down so they could more level with one another as they conversed

"Haruyuki-kun, I'm sorry" she said with a soft apologetic smile at him "I'm to blame for all this" she said regretfully

"But I won't let you get hurt" she said determinately

"What are you… talking about?" he asked in confusion as to what she was saying

"I haven't yet told you about Brain Burst's… ultimate and final acceleration power" she said to him seriously

Immediately at simply hearing that a large sense of foreboding descended upon Haruyuki, for some reason the way she said it, it sounded like some sacrifice on her part, and the way she said final… no there was something wrong with all this.

"N-no! You can't do that! If such a power exists, then I'll use it!" he declared, if anyone was worth escaping this situation alive it was Kuroyukihime

"I'm your pawn, so I have to protect you!" he declared with fierce determination

She only smiled at his determination to keep her safe, he really was one in a million to so casually say he would die in her place, but he simply did not understand that she in turn felt the same for him.

"No" she said with finality causing him to look at her once more, his eyes starting to tear up at this point at the severity of the situation they found themselves in

"You have to be at least level 9 to use this command, and it consumes 99% of your points." She explained

"Also, I'm your parent. Protecting you is my responsibility." She said with a soft smile at him

"But…But…" he said in shock, tears threatening to spill from his eyes as he barely held his emotions together. It was all just happening so fast – their options being taken out of their hands before they even started.

"Don't be so sad. There's a silver lining for me in all of this." She said to him tenderly

"Silver lining?" he asked, she nodding in response

"In this very moment… I am sure you'll believe my last words" she said as she held her hands together, her words making his eyes widen at that

'Last words' the very statement seemed to take the breath out of him as he came to realize that she truly believed that she was going to die

"Haruyuki-kun." She said snapping him out of it

"I love you" she said, the statement hitting him with the full force of a physical blow as his eyes widened at the statement in shock, the statement leaving him utterly speechless

"I've never felt this way before. I couldn't control it at all, and it just confused me." She confessed to him

"You're always in my mind, and it makes me both happy and sad." She admitted before she gave him a loving smile

"I guess that's what being in love feels like." She said lovingly as she smiled tenderly at him

"Why… me?" he asked teary eyed the shock of all that was happening being too much for him "Why would you love someone like me?" he asked in sheer sadness and disbelief

She couldn't withhold the smile that formed on her lips at his question, she could literally list his positive traits and go on and on about him. There were simply so many things that he had done that had earned her heart, from how he behaved, to his heartfelt and pure feelings, and his sincere actions and deep determination. But if she were to recount the moment that she started to fall for him it was probably…

"Haruyuki-kun, do you recall our first contact?" she asked as she rested her hands on the shoulders of his small Teppig avatar

"Of course" he said unable to keep the sadness from his voice

"Remember the high score I got in that game?" she asked him getting a nod in turn "I used acceleration for it" she admitted

"What?" he asked in surprise

"It was to get your attention and make it easier for me to persuade you" she explained

"I became a Burst Linker six years ago. Since then, I've only yearned for power and speed, slain countless enemies, and stained my hands with the blood of my friends. Still, I couldn't even approach your high score."

"Listen Haruyuki-kun, you're faster than anyone else. I'm sure that you'll one day be known far and wide as the fastest Linker in the Accelerated World. You'll defeat the Kings, rise to the next level, and reach the origin of Brain Burst. You'll discover the ultimate potential hidden within our brains and souls." She said to him passionately

"I shivered when I saw you play that game. I didn't know a human could move that fast." She said in remembrance

"But in the real world, you were so fragile and pitiful that it tore my heart." She said with a sad smile, she surprising him at her brutal honesty

"I want to bow before the future king. However, I also want to embrace and protect you." She said as she squeezed his shoulders a bit tighter at that "These contradictory feelings welled up inside me…"

"It was love. I finally realized it today" She confessed

"Today?" asked Haru thunder shock by the barrage of information that had been imparted upon him

"When you were talking about Kurashima-kun. I felt jealous, for the first time in my life." She admitted

"Perhaps I realized it too late?" she said with underlying sadness in her tone "No, that's not quite true" she said he briefly noticing that her hands had started shaking as her thinly veiled emotions started to crack

"I was able to declare my love for you. I wanted to be able to tell you in the real world, but it's time to say goodbye." She said as she looked at him with teary eyes, a smile still upon her lips as she looked at him even as tears streamed down her cheeks

Haru let out a gasp of surprise at that, what did she mean goodbye?

"Get stronger and faster. Climb to the top and show me what I wanted to see." She said, Haruyuki only shaking his head at that, the only reason he was doing any of this was for her, if she was gone, he wouldn't have anything anymore…

"No, you can't!" he exclaimed as he clutched the sleeve of her dress softly as if afraid to let her go "You can't leave me behind!" he begged her, even dying with her was better than living without her

"I'm supposed to protect you, yet…" he said as he trailed of as he broke down in tears, she simply looking at him with a small tender smile as she wiped away his tears with her hands lovingly

"I haven't done… a single…" he said as he looked at her through his tears, not understanding why she would go so far for someone like him

She then leaned forward and tenderly kissed him on the lips. The kiss so chaste, sweet, and innocent that it spoke volumes of the love she bore for him, it truly felt like a moment that lasted an entire lifetime for him. He only being able to look at her wide-eyed as all this happened, he totally powerless in the situation as it progressed beyond his control.

She then parted from him "I'm sure we will meet again someday" she said amidst her own tears

She then stood up amidst his protests and quickly walked forward while he tried to hold onto her dress and she intoned three words that would forever alter their fate

"Physical Full Burst!" she exclaimed as her avatar disappeared in a ray of light and her real body started glowing a golden hue

Haru's eyes then widened as he observed Kuroyukihime slowly start to move her physical body in the accelerated world

'Impossible…' he thought disbelievingly 'Acceleration of the body?'

He suddenly heard Kuroyukihime's voice over the connected neuro linker once more as she through great force moved through the accelerated world

"**There's a theory that the heartbeat is the base clock for how fast humans think**." She explained as she slowly started to turn her body towards Haru's physical one

"**Why does an instant feel like dozens of seconds for race drivers? Why does a minute feel like an eternity for lovers in close contact?" **she questioned him, both of them recalling their experience just recently at that

"**It's because your consciousness accelerates when your heart rate increases. The Brain Burst program is based on that theory. It uses the Neuro Linker to speed up the heart clock a thousand times, accelerating human consciousness"** she explained to him as she started stretching her arms in order to push Haruyuki's body out of the way of the oncoming vehicle

"**The forbidden power to accelerate even the body is called… Physical Full Burst**" she explained as she placed her arms against Haruyuki's side as she made to push him

"**Haruyuki-kun, my heart was racing nonstop whenever I was with you." **She confessed

"**Even without the Neuro Linker or Brain Burst, I found myself living in accelerated time whenever I was with you" **she said as she looked at his physical form fondly for one last time

"**I was able to keep a smile on my face… because the time we spent together felt like an eternity" **she said as she smiled at him softly, she pushing him away just at time reaccelerated

The cable immediately disconnecting as the car impacted her and took them out of the accelerated world.

He slowly started regaining his senses as being pushed by an accelerated being had taken a lot out of him as well.

The first thing he noticed was that he was on his side, he could see his hand lying in front of his face, he moved his fingers for a second to make sure he was still alive. His head was banging, it feeling like a bomb had gone off next to him. Slowly he started hearing the cacophony of sounds around him as he picked himself up, he rubbing the back of his head in slight pain where his head had met the sidewalk.

Immediately his eyes settled on the disconnected cable in front of him, as he stared at it with growing horror

He could briefly hear a middle aged man that was kneeling down next to him asking if he was okay, but he didn't care.

His head immediately swerving around looking for Kuroyukihime only to find her lying a few feet behind him in a quickly growing pool of her own blood. His eyes wide in horror and disbelief as he simply shook his head in denial for a few seconds as his mind attempted to process what exactly he was seeing.

There was Kuroyukihime, her legs were covered in blood and seemed to have taken the majority of the impact of the initial blow, but then there was something much more pressing that his eyes were being drawn to.

The glass…

It was everywhere.

The impact apparently had sent her backwards crashing directly into the glass pane of the Wc Donald, but while she had broken through the first layer of glass in the store front that was usually used for décor and as an LCD display, she had crashed into the second protective layer of glass behind it as well, the one intended to prevent break-in's.

This however had caused a large majority of the glass fragments from the first pane to embed themselves on her back and side.

It would be over ten minutes later that paramedics would arrive to find Haru crying beside a heavily bleeding Kuroyukihime as he held her hand, too scared of even moving her lest he risk causing her further harm.

He repeatedly asking for but one thing as he begged the medics through his tears

"Please help her…"

* * *

**My turn to fight**

Kuroyukihime was immediately rushed into the operating room the moment they arrived in the hospital, Haru having been allowed to be transported in the ambulance with Kuroyukihime as he held her hand.

The moment they arrived however he was told to wait on a bench outside the operating room.

Inside the operating room it was a frenzy of activity, they had established that the procedure would require around two dozen or so small ambulatory surgeries. That was not the issue however, the real issue was stopping the hemorrhaging and removing the majority of the glass shards whilst preventing exsanguination (bleeding out). A more pressing thought on the minds of the team of surgeons however was the fact that most of the glass shards near her back were near her spine and so far three prominent one's had embedded themselves in her spinal column.

The head surgeon had informed them to not mess with those as even with the advancements of technology today such a procedure was incredibly easy to blunder. As such they were currently communicating with a spinal surgeon in Okinawa that had agreed to perform the surgery through robotic assistance utilizing robotic arms to perform it, due to the distance issues and the urgency of the case.

It had been established that he would attempt to perform three minimally intrusive surgeries attempting to reconnect the fractured nerve endings in the spinal column after removing the glass shards. He would then replace the Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) lost with their lab-engineered variant in order to minimize neural shock once she awoke. Then it would be a matter of allowing Synthetic Protein Micromachines to repair the remaining nerve fibers.

The rest of the surgeons had to beforehand remove the other glass shards and seal up appropriate lacerations, as well as put a stop to any internal hemorrhaging before such a delicate procedure would be carried out.

All that was without even addressing the issues of the girl's legs and nervous system. At this point their base priority was simply keeping the girl alive.

Meanwhile Haruyuki was waiting on the bench for an update, an assessment, anything. He stewing in his own guilt and worry as he waited, his fears on her condition progressively worsening, the images of her battered and bleeding body drifting through his mind haunting his every thought.

Hours passed as the surgery went underway, he only having Kuroyukihime's bloody emerald green handkerchief as his sole company.

At around 1 A.M. the hemorrhaging was for the most part halted and the majority of the glass shards removed.

It was then that a nurse that had been washing Kuroyukihime's bloody clothes walked up to him and handed him a green bloody pocketbook, momentarily confusing him before he saw the central logo. Umesato Junior High School, it was Kuroyukihime's pocketbook. He started tearing up as realization struck him, the pocketbook falling onto the floor as he wiped away his tears, it falling open as it did so. He quickly leaned down in order to pick it up and was stunned to find a picture of himself inside it.

Her last words suddenly echoing across his head as he looked at it

'I love you'

"Kuroyukihime" he said as his tears spilled across the frame as he finally broke down crying, his emotions finally hitting full force as the dam holding it back broke.

It was only minutes later that he received the first update from the surgical staff after they vacated the room. All six surgeons looking thoroughly exhausted at this point, as needless to say several complications had arisen throughout.

"We've successfully stopped the bleeding." Explained the head surgeon "Synthetic Protein Micromachines are currently repairing the affected tissue, but her organs are badly damaged, and she could fall into shock at any time. A specialized surgeon from Okinawa is doing the remainder of the procedures in order for her to have the best chances with the remaining surgeries that will occur after she is fully stabilized. The next twelve hours are critical for her recovery." Explained the doctor before he walked away, having finished debriefing the boy on her condition

Haru had been allowed a monitoring window so that he could observe Kuroyukihime's status without entering the confines of the room since she was after all still in a critical state. Kuroyukihime was currently in a bed like container that had the back portion ideally positioned in order to not risk aggravating the three main points of injury on her back. Currently Micromachines were like the doctor said, repairing the affected tissue inside the container, including her internal organs. Apparently there had been slight complications upon the discovery that her muscles and tendons across several points in her body had been damaged in a way that could not be fully explained by the accident. The discovery of the damages to her internal organs and muscles had prompted the medical staff to postpone the spinal surgery until after she was stabilized.

Haruyuki could only theorize that the muscle deterioration was due to moving inside the accelerated world in a physical body, which in his mind made the injury's his fault since she obtained them for him. So it was that he could only look at Kuroyukihime's sleeping face sadly.

"You should go home and rest" said the nurse from earlier, she still haven't yet left

"One of her family members will be visiting tomorrow" she explained to him

"That's too late. How can I leave her alone when she's fighting for her life?" he responded, not looking away from the window open in his neuro linker showing him Kuroyukihime

The nurse only sighed good-naturedly at that "I understand" she said with a small smile "I'll bring you a blanket, so at least get some rest" she said as she made to walk away

At first the nurse had been slightly confused as to how such a cute girl had fallen for such a less than ordinary looking guy. But she was starting to realize that the guy had a sweet side a mile long, how sincere he was with his emotions, how caring and worried he was of the girl, he had numerous positive traits that she had observed so far and she had to admit that any girl would be lucky if they landed someone like him.

'Now if only the doctor would notice me, then I would have my shot at a happily ever after' She thought determinedly as she clenched her fists.

"Excuse me!" he heard from behind her making her blink, it knocking her out of her thoughts as she looked back to find the chubby boy from earlier

"Is her Neuro Linker still equipped?" asked Haru forcefully as he noticed it on the surveillance window

"Yes, we're monitoring her brainwaves" she explained in slight confusion of how seriously he was asking the question

"She's not connected to a stand-alone machine, is she?" he asked worriedly

This making the nurse think that perhaps the girl or boy had an apprehension of direct linking, something not that uncommon nowadays. "Of course not. It's connected to the hospital network." She explained to the boy with a gentle smile before she continued on her way

'Don't tell me…' he thought in sudden apprehension

"Burst Link" he said softly as he activated the program and quickly opened the matchmaking application in the accelerated world, only to find to find both her and him currently connected to the hospital's local network and listed under their battle avatars

"No way…" he said in slight disbelief and horror

"Physical full burst consumes 99% of the user's points. If someone's attacks her here…" he said fearfully, before he exited the accelerated world

'No this is a hospital' he thought 'We shouldn't meet another Linker here by chance' he thought before his thoughts drifted back to the one he had been following before the incident

'No, there's Cyan Pile. If he shows up it's all over. It'll all be over. Her dreams…'

'I'll protect you. I'll protect you at all costs.'

'I have something that I must tell you. The next time we meet…'

'That's why it's my turn to fight!' He thought determinedly

'If I find someone using the acceleration command, that person's likely to be Cyan Pile. I only have an instant before he challenges Senpai to a duel!'

He quickly remembered something that Kuroyukihime had told him, something called the tag system. It would enable a player to fight in another's stead as any challenges set towards them would be redirected towards him. It was a system she had explained when he had inquired on the fact of why kings weren't constantly being challenged whenever an opportunity presented itself. She explaining that theoretically the king had to either agree to a one on one confrontation or the challenger would have to go through the king's generals first in order to do so.

He then quickly established himself as guardian status so all potential challengers to Kuroyukihime would be redirected to him, fact was that he could not keep a constant vigilance on all areas of the hospital, only the entrance, and the assaulter might even do so from outside by using a wireless network expander if they were so inclined.

Little did he know however that things would escalate faster than he would have ever believed possible.

* * *

**With Chiyu **

"Haru" said Chiyu sadly as she saw the posts being put up on the school board saying of how Kuroyukihime was in accident

Then a student posted up a downloadable link to a video he had recorded of the accident with his neuro linker, it having a warning of graphic and violent imagery under it.

Other students were bound to ignore such a fact as Kuroyukihime was a more popular figure, but she knew that recently Haru had been hanging around Kuroyukihime a lot, why she herself hade encouraged such a relationship only yesterday.

What if he was hurt? She needed to know, she needed to know if Haru was alright.

So it was with a shaking hand that she clicked on the link

It started off with a person criticizing Haru and Kuroyukihime's relationship, and how she should not associate herself with trash like him. This making her clench her hands in anger as she heard the guy badmouth Haruyuki as he recorded the two walking side by side in a direct link, the guy theorizing all manner of ludicrous ideas as to why Kuroyukihime could possibly be spending any time on him. From blackmail, to things like that Haruyuki's parents could be her parents boss, and other crazy theories.

Suddenly both of them seemed to stop for a while as they stared at each other making the guy go quiet at that. Kuroyukihime placing her hand on Haru's shoulder as she span him around. They simply looked at each other for a few seconds, before she looked at Haru and placed her hand tenderly on his cheek making him flinch. She then with a teary-eyed smile said to him "Haru, you baka"

Suddenly a screech was heard coming from off screen, the guy turning to the sound just in time to see a car going out of control and scrapping against the median, before it sped forward and hit a speed bump, said speed bump launching the vehicle airborne.

The teen seeing where the car was heading towards looked back in surprise and growing horror as he looked towards Kuroyukihime and Haru, just in time to see them mutter something as they looked towards the car in surprise.

What happened next looked as if Kuroyukihime was standing next to Haru for an instant before she was just gone, the vehicle impacting her and blasting her backwards into the adjacent Wc Donald's. She completely crashing through the window and impacting the bulletproof glass behind it that had become standard for most business franchises to utilize. Her body in turn lurching forward and collapsing on her side only mere feet away from Haruyuki-kun.

"Oh my god" she said in growing horror as she saw it all play out before her, she covering her mouth in shock. She then observed Haruyuki break down crying next to Kuroyukihime's prone form before paramedics finally arrived taking them both away.

As she made to find out more information about the incident little did she know the consequences her curiosity would wrought.

* * *

**Elsewhere **

Observing the events through Chiyu's eyes using the backdoor on her neuro linker were two people, one of them was Takumu Mayuzumi, Chiyu's boyfriend. The other person had detected the backdoor and tied his own leech program to it remotely in order to widen his reach, he was Seiji Noumi an opportunist and hardcore burst linker.

He had done so during a field trip to the junior high school he was set to attend next school year, imagine his surprise when he saw the infamous Black Lotus connected to the school network. After finding out such a succulent morsel of information he immediately set out on obtaining his own little spy into the inner workings of the school, he was quite lucky to find the backdoor and attach his spy network program into it without detection.

Takumu was quick to close the window after seeing the news reports and the uploaded video as he made plans for his confrontation tomorrow, Seiji however…

"Oho, what is this?" he said as he zoomed in on a certain scene after rewinding the student video and focused it on Kuroyukihime, right as the vehicle impacted her. He then slowed down the feed as he refocused it on her, the video showing a blur for a fraction of a second that seemed to cause the propulsion of Haru towards the right.

"Fascinating, who would have thought I would ever get to see it, physical full burst. I guess that confirms my suspicions on who Black Lotus is, only a lvl. 9 Burst Linker can perform that move, at the sacrifice of 99% percent of their points of course." He said as he opened a new window and pulled out the school dossier of the girl on his neuro linker

"Princess Snow Black huh? Quite a fitting name, well Black Lotus, let's play a game." He said as a demented grin formed on his face

"A sudden death game, with you as the star, but don't fret, it won't be me that will end you. Why there's a whole game base of players just itching to do so on my behalf." He said with a maniacal smirk as he uploaded the current coordinates of Black Lotus along with a message on a number of Burst Linker frequented blogs

"**Black King found, weakened, 1% remaining BP, currently vulnerable for most likely the next 24-72 hours."**

**Security Level: minimum**

**Only one possible burst linker in area that would likely be guarding her** (He noted as he recalled Haru and immediately affiliated him with her, believing him to be a part of her group due to their close interactions prior to the accident)

**Recommended level of those wishing for engagement: 1-9**

**Rewards: High level boost, chance of taking a traitor king out of the game, tally to reach lvl.10 if you are lvl.9.**

**Drawbacks: Low BP reward is likely **

-Eternal Dusk

He finished his listing, in mere minutes several of the threads became torrents of activity as many people made plans to try to either get a glimpse of the legendary Black King, or to eliminate her.

"Well, let the games begin" he said as he closed the window and sent a message to an associate of his to record any combat events in the area where the Black Lotus was currently held.

Needless to say tomorrow was going to be very interesting.

* * *

**A.N.**

**The biggest changes by far are to be born from the nature of the accident itself.**

**This story is quickly going to diverge from original plot line and dialogue, overall the biggest game changer so far are the nature of the accident and Haru's emotional spectrum and mentality. Dialogue is still pretty close to the original at this point however as there is little that I felt the need to alter for my story to function the way I want it to, original dialogue this episode was pretty solid.**

**Note:**** Not every burst linker frequents the blogs Seiji posted on and not everyone will take the post seriously, they most likely believing it to be fake. The kings and high level bursters for one will simply ignore it, send someone to scope it out, or immediately think it as fake. Most will see it as the type of posts in mmorpgs that state things like (200k gold, free, quick process) they will just think of it as a scam a high level player put up to lure gullible newbies. **

**It will mostly be low level players checking it out with a few medium and high level players going in order to either take out the scammer or to watch the upcoming bloodbath. **

**Just stating that at this point Haru would probably be screwed against anyone above lvl. 4, and by screwed I mean he probably won't stand a chance. Hell level 2 &amp; 3 is pushing it without his wings so I am being more than generous.**

**No lvl.9 is going to personally go there to check it out, high levels have seen stuff like it before and won't buy it. A lot of them will also be dissuaded by the time frame given since a lot of burst linkers go to school and it is on a weekday. Most "parents" in the accelerated world will also advise their low level protégé's to keep far from it. Overall it won't be a lvl. 1 Haru against the entire accelerated world, frankly if it was he would be screwed. It will most likely be against oblivious and fairly new players like himself.**


End file.
